The children have also been exploring inside school, with trips to Nursery, visits to see the goldfish in Year Two and one afternoon a few children had the chance to listen to some very loud steel pans being played in the hall!  The goldfish visits went down so well Playgroup now have their very own fish bowl and three goldfish – thank you Miss Kirwin!  The trips to Nursery will continue throughout the Summer term to build on the children’s understanding and awareness of their forthcoming transition.  These visits will link in to discussions and activities about the children growing, including measuring and weighing and looking at baby photos!

Links to the EYFS:

PSE – show care and concern for living things

KUW – show curiosity and interest in the features of living things

KUW – develop an understanding of growth and changes over time

As we slowly shake off the remnants of Winter, Playgroup is ready to gently embrace the warmth of the Spring sunshine. Our traditional home corner has been transformed into a friendly Flower Shop with tills and pretend money and the courtyard into a Garden Shed with plenty of role play props from bulbs to brooms, wheelbarrows to wellies and hoses to hats!

Towards the end of term we will move on to everything Easter with chicks, eggs and bunnies galore! Through these play experiences, the main focus of learning will be numbers as labels and for counting as well as learning about the natural world around us.

Playgroup is open as usual, yesterday we had a lot of fun making a snow man.

This half term we will continue to build on the children’s interests and enthusiasms, but also introduce some new songs and activities to extend their learning. We will talk about and re-create firework displays, celebrate Children In Need and raise awareness of Road Safety Week to learn some important pedestrian skills.

Then it’ll be December and time to get ready for Christmas. There’ll be decorations to make, cards to write, gifts to wrap and we’ll even do some baking so the wonderful, festive scents of cinnamon and spice will float through the air! And listen out for a special visitor who will be joining us at our end of term Christmas Party with a special delivery for all the children! Ho Ho Ho!

Links to the EYFS : Creative Development

• being creative: responding to experiences, expressing and communicating ideas
• exploring media and materials
• creating music and dance
• developing imagination and imaginative play

First is the fantastic bespoke canopy in our courtyard – this wonderful construction has been designed with a water tank to collect the rainfall, which the children can recycle in the sandpit or digging area. Very eco-friendly! We also had the children’s pegs recycled and relocated to the entrance area. This has made a huge difference as it means we no longer have lots of outdoor shoes walking through our room every morning (which can be particularly yukky on those grim rainy days) and has also helped speed up things up when the children are being dropped off.

Another purchase was the very smart and very ‘grown up’ noticeboard, which has been installed by our signing in desk and where you’ll find information about forthcoming fundraising events and local activities etc. And finally, with the introduction of packed lunches this term and all day opening next term, a bright red lunchbox trolley and a rainbow of rest mats have been bought for those children who may stay all day and need an afternoon nap. THANK YOU ALL VERY MUCH!